Begging bowl protest in front of Rajini`s house

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NATIONAL DAILY
VOL. XXXIII NO. 102
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H CHENNAI H THURSDAY 19.3.2015 (EVENING) H OTHER STATIONS FRIDAY 20.3.2015 (MORNING) H 8 PAGES Rs. 4.00 H
Regd. No., TN/CC(S) DN/223/15-17, RNI No: 33810 / 82
T
Alive, agile
eam India managed to recover from a poor start
losing three wickets for less than 120 in the World
Cup quarter finals against Bangalesh today. Thanks to
a splendid partnership by Rohit Sharma and Suresh
Raina, Indians managed to put up a good score on the
board. After winning the toss, skipper Dhoni had no
hesitation in opting to bat. Dhawan, Kohli and Raina
were dismissed cheaply.
Meanwhile, a resurgent Pakistan would look to carry
forward the momentum when they take on formidable
hosts Australia in the third quarterfinal of the cricket
World Cup tomorrow.
On the back of four victories in a row, including one
against the mighty South African side, Pakistan recovered from two defeats to make the knockout stage.
Misbah-ul-haq has played a pivotal role in their
resurrection with his superlative batting effort and
the skipper now has the biggest challenge of the
tournament before him as they run into host Australia,
whom they have not beaten in their own den since
their win at Perth in 2005.
Meanwhile, faced with stiff opposition on the land
bill, the government today reached out to leaders of
opposition parties, including Sonia Gandhi, and activist Anna Hazare inviting them to an open debate on
the issue while asserting that the bill was very much
in farmers’ interest.
ELEVENTH HOUR
Around elevenish this morning, a bomb exploded at one of the floors of DLF IT Park at Ramavaram. Security personnel rushed to the spot and a fire-tender was pressed into service. Staff members were evacuated to
a safe place at the ground floor. Only after all the drama, it was revealed that it was a drama indeed. To be precise, a mock drill to check the preparedness of people at the campus in case of emergency.
Photos: K VIJAY ANAND
Ro-hits India
out of trouble
Melbourne, Mar 19:
Rohit Sharma roared back into
form as he struck a magnificent
century against Bangladesh in the
second quarterfinal of the World
Cup at the Melbourne Cricket
Ground today.
His classy 137-run knock was
studded with 3 sixes and 14 fours
and came off 126 balls and enabled
India to set a daunting 303-run target for Bangladesh. Rohit Sharma
reached his seventh century off 108
balls that came at the right time not
only for himself but also when his
team needed it the most.
He was ably partnered by Suresh
Raina who continued his rich form
with the bat smashing a 57-ball 65
before edging a Mashrafe Mortaza delivery high up in the air for
wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim to
take the catch.
He opened up after reaching his
century and hit some classy elegant
shots before getting dismissed
in the 47th over by a yorker from
Hammer &
Tongs
After a sedate start, Team India
managed 176 runs losing just
three wickets in the last 20 overs
with Rohit and Raina going all
guns blazing.
Taskin Ahmed. Batting first after
winning the toss, India got off to
a good start with openers Shikhar
Dhawan and Rohit Sharma notching up the team’s fifty in the tenth
over in their 75-run stand.
Indian lost their first wicket when
Shikhar Dhawan was stumped by
Mushfiqur Rahim off Shakib Al
Hasan for 30 in the 17th over.
Rubel Hossain then struck in the
Man of the
moment
Rohit Sharm’s last few hundreds
in ODI’s have been bigger and biggest. And they have all come on
important occasions. His last few
centuries come with an individual
score 264, 150, 138 & 137.
Rohit Sharma on his
to a brilliant century
next over when he had Virat Kohli
caught behind by Mushfiqur Rahim
to reduce India to 79/2.
Sharma held one end up and completed his fifty off 70 balls before
Ajinkya Rahane hit to mid-off for
Shakib Al Hasan to take the catch
off Taskin Ahmed to leave India at
115/3 in 28 overs. Rohit and Raina
steadied the Indian innings with a
122-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Their 100-run stand came off 80
balls as they combined caution well
with aggression.
Play was held up for a short while
when India were 186/3 in 38.1 overs
but that break did not affect the momentum as India reached 205/3 in
40 overs and from there went from
strength to strength.
Mighty Aussie or
mercurial Pak?
Adelaide, Mar 19 (PTI):
A resurgent Pakistan would look to
carry forward the momentum when
they take on formidable hosts Australia in the third quarterfinal of the
cricket World Cup, here tomorrow.
On the back of four victories in
a row, including one against the
mighty South African side, Pakistan
recovered from two defeats to make
the knockout stage. They performance has been mercurial so far.
Misbah-ul-haq has played a pivotal
role in their resurrection with his
superlative batting effort and
the
skipper now has the biggest challenge of the tournament before him as
they run into host Australia, whom they have
not beaten in their own
den since their win at
Perth in 2005.
Odds are heavily stacked against the
Skippers speak
Begging bowl protest in
front of Rajini’s house
q Distributors’ dramatic plan to get back Lingaa ‘losses’
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
Film distributors across Tamilnadu
will come together in Chennai on
Sunday as Rajinikanth starrer Lingaa
completes 100 days in few screens.
But it is not for any celebrations.
Yet, they have a reason to regroup.
Frustrated by the no response to
their repeated claims to get compensated for the alleged loss they
suffered screening the movie, they
have decided to lay siege to the actor’s house and hold a begging bowl
protest, ironically on the 100th day
of the movie.
Speaking to News Today, a film distributor, said, ‘after several protests
to get us compensated for the loss
suffered, Rajinikanth and producer
Rockline Venkatesh agreed to return
a total sum of Rs 10 crore. This too
The film distributors
denied reports that
Lingaa row has
been resolved.
They will gather in
the city on Saturday
and will hold a meeting
Land Bill: Gadkari invites
Sonia, Hazara for open debate
5 killed in mishap
near Ramanathapuram
New Delhi, Mar 19:
Amid Opposition’s all-out effort to
stall the amended Land Acquisition
Bill, Union Transport Minister Nitin
Gadkari today wrote a letter to political leaders and social activists inviting them for an open debate on the
legislation.
Among those who have been sent
letters include Congress president
Sonia Gandhi, who led the Opposition march to Rashtrapati Bhavan
against Land Bill on Tuesday, and
Anna Hazare, who has been leading
a farmers’ agitation.
‘I have written a letter to Sonia
Gandhi and Anna Hazare and
have given them invitation for an
open discussion,’ Gadkari told
reporters.
‘Have requested leaders of political
TENTH HOUR
I think four straight wins gives
you a lot of confidence as a playing unit, the mindset is good and
the momentum is with us
Misbah-ul-Haq
We just need to keep playing the
brand of cricket we have been for
most of this tournament
Michael Clarke
Asian nation as they have lost their
last seven away matches against
Australia. However, Pakistan being an unpredictable side can
upset the Australia applecart if
their bowlers do the job. In the
eight World Cup encounters,
the two teams have won
four matches each and
in the last contest it was
Pakistan which emerged
triumphant in Colombo in
the 2011 edition.
It may be recalled that the distributors had resorted to a one-day token
fast near Valluvar Kottam, a few
weeks ago over the same issue.
Various trade bodies including Tamil
Film Producers Council and Nadigar
Sangam have issued statements
urging the distributors not to get into
a public spat and damage the reputation of Rajinikanth.
Elsewhere, the going seems to
be tough for Rajinikanth as he is
plagued by lots of legal hurdles
including those against his previous
film Kochadaiyaan, a Bollywood
movie titled after him (Main Hoon
Rajinikanth) among others.
Lingaa, directed by K S Ravikumar featured Rajinikanth, Sonakshi
Sinha and Anushka in the lead roles.
Produced by Rockline Movies, it had
music by A R Rahman.
only after the intervention of Tamil
Film Producers Council and Nadigar
Sangam president Sarathkumar’.
‘Though we were not ready to settle
for the amount promised by them, we
accepted the same considering the
difficult situation we are in now. But
both Rajinikanth and Venkatesh are
playing a hide and seek game now.’.
Condemning both for delaying the
3 injured in
attack by
elephant, bear
Erode, Mar 19 (PTI):
Two women were seriously injured
when an elephant attacked them at
Thalawady forest range and another
man attacked by a bear in the area, a
forest department official said.
The two women, aged 55 and 50, had
entered the forest area yesteday to collect firewood when they were attacked
by the pachyderm, which ran away after
they raised an alarm, Padma, Forest Officer at Hasaanure in Sathyamangalam
Tiger Reserve said in a press release.
In the second incident, a coolie entered the forest yesterday to collect
leaves for broomsticks when the bear
pounced on him and bit him. hearing
his cries for help, locals rushed to
the spot, pelted stones and chased
away the bear The two women and
the coolie have been hospitalised.
settlement, he said, ‘On one hand
they promise a compensation and
on the other side, they approach the
court and obtain an injunction against
all not to speak or write anything
about the movie.’
The distributors numbering over 100
would gather in the city on Saturday
and will hold a meeting presided
over by the Exhibitors Association
joint secretary Sridhar. It has been
decided to hold the begging bowl
protest in front of Rajinikanth’s house
at Poes Garden here the next day.
‘We are left with no other option but
to explain our pitiable condition this
way’, he added.
The distributors also denied reports
that appeared in various sections of
the media that Lingaa row between
Rajinikanth, Rockline Venkatesh and
distributors had been actually resolved.
More than 10 lakh students are
appearing for class 10 board
exams, which started across
Tamilnadu today. While students
busy writing their first test at
Muthiyalpet Higher Secondary
School, a complaint box has been
kept at Government Girls School
at Villivakkam (inset).
Photos: R THIYAGARAJAN &
M SRINIVASAN
parties and social activists to come on
a platform, whether electronic or print
media, and have an open discussion,’
the Minister added.
Gadkari said his invitation for open
debate also extends to NGOs.
Gadkari’s letter came a day after
Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to Anna
Hazare on the NDA government’s
Land Bill and vowed to oppose it at
all fora.
Sonia’s letter to the social activist
was in reply to his earlier missive
and referred to the protest march to
President House by the representatives of 14 parties on the issue.
Leaders of 14 political parties led
by Sonia Gandhi had taken out a
march from Parliament to Rashtrapati
Bhavan against amendments to the
Land Acquisition Act.
Ramanathapuram, Mar 19 (PTI):
Five persons, including three college-going girls, were killed on the
spot and seven others injured when a
private bus collided with a mini van at
Keezhakudi in this district today.
Police said both vehicles collided
and then overturned. Four of those
killed were travelling in the bus. The
other person was the van driver. The
injured have been hospitalised.
$ 7,800 recovered from
passenger at city airport
Chennai, Mar 19 (PTI):
Customs officials today recovered
USD 7,800 from a Singaporebound passenger at the airport
here, police said.
Zakir Hussain was found carrying
the US Dollars, valuing Rs five lakh in
Indian currency, by the CISF during
a security check, police said.
Security guard stoned
to death near Porur
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
A man who allegedly killed another
by hitting him with a boulder was
arrested by the police this morning.
The incident which occurred near
Porur last night created tension in
the area.
According to sources, Karuppu (35)
from Thiruvannamalai recently joined
as a security guard at a private welding unit on the Poonamalee-Porur
highway.
It is reported that he was taken
as a replacement for Munusamy
(35) who was earlier sacked for
his conduct.
Police said, last night, Munusamy
met Karuppu and took him to a
nearby liquor shop, where they both
drank heavily.
Taking advantage of the situation, Munusamy took a boulder
lying nearby and hit Karuppu on
the head, killing him on the spot.
This morning, employees of the
shop who found him sitting beside
the dead body, informed the Mangadu police.
The body was sent to Kilpauk Medical College and
Hospital.
Police who arrested Munusamy
are now investigating if the two
had a previous enmity or the
murder was an act of revenge on
Karuppu for having taken his place
at the firm.
2 THURSDAY
19 MARCH 2015
City
What's connecting
Kodambakkam?
Centre
CHENNAI
Mambalam canal gets hope
Civic body to clean water body
New sewage line to come up in the area
I
n a relief to residents, the civic
and Metrowater officials have decided to initiate steps
to provide proper
sewer connections
to households in
Kodambakkam and
other neighbouring
areas.
The neighbourhood is set to get new sewage
In the first
connections soon.
phase, sewage
connections will
be provided to neighbourhoods
The civic body has
close to Mambalam, Virugamalso initiated efforts
bakkam and Buckingham canals,
apart from Cooum and Adyar.
to block illegal
However, the civic body is yet
sewage lines to
to trace the holds polluting the
network of storm water drains that
prevent them from
carry sewage to the five watergetting into the
ways. Work on this is expected
to start soon. ‘We will plug illegal
network essentially
outlets on the waterways in the
meant to drain
second phase,’ said an official.
‘Kodambakkam zone is likely to
rainwater
get legalised sewer connections in
two years,’ a source said, adding
that the civic body has also initiated efforts to block illegal sewage
lines to prevent them from getting
into the network essentially meant
to drain rainwater.
‘Apart from linking sewage
lines to SWDs, some people are
dumping
sewage in empty
plots, leading to
mosquito and
M dog menace
AKKA
B
M
A
KOD
in the area,’
says a resident of Kodambakkam.
Because we don’t have a proper
drainage system, the stench is
unbearable,’ says, a resident from
Rangarajapuram. ‘We are happy
that the officials have decided to
give proper sewage lines so that
the canals can be saved from the
dirty sewage that the illegal lines
dump on them.
- NT Bureau
The ongoing cleaning project at Mambalam canal is expected to bring relief to residents.
The water body has been a breeding
ground for mosquitoes
and has lowered hygiene and
sanitation aspects in and
around the neighbourhood
OPEN INVITATION
C
Garbage at Arunachalam Street in Chetpet invites mosquito menace, besides leading to unbearable
stench.
Photo: R THIYAGARAJAN
hennai Corporation has recently
undertaken maintenance work
at the Mambalam canal, near Vidyodaya Main Road.
The water body has been a breeding ground for mosquitoes and has
lowered hygiene and sanitation
aspects in and around neighbouring
areas.
Speaking about the project, an
official of Zone 9 says, ‘Work has
commenced and presently we are
carrying out the Storm Water Drain
(SWD) works. During this process,
IN THEATRES
IN HOME
SONY PIX
RAJATHANDHIRAM
05:37 PM Welcome to the Jungle
Kamala Theatre, Udhayam Theatre, PVR Cinemas,
08:00 PM Die Another Day
AGS Cinemas, INOX National, Abirami Mega Mall,
10:52 PM The World Is Not Enough
Woodlands Multiplex, Mayajaal Cinema, Sangam
Multiplex, Sri Ganga Cinema, Raj Theatre, Maharani
Theatre
we are planning to remove encroachments dotted along the canal, to pave
for smooth flow of water in the source.
Once completed, residents will be living in a clean and neat environment’.
Another persisting issue is the mixing of garbage with sewage water
near GN Chetty Road, thus, hindering
the flow of water in the canal.
Visveswaran, a resident of GN
Chetty Road, says, ‘Our street is neat
and clean, except that a few places
located near the canal remain polluted.
HBO
S
U
D
O
K
U
06:04 PM Sex and the City 2
MOVIES NOW
PVR Cinemas, Sangam, AGS, INOX National, Hall, Rakki
07:15 PM City Lights
Multiplex, Abirami Theatres,
09:00 PM Ice Age
10:40 PM Battleship
IIVANUKKU THANILA GANDAM
Mayajaal, Escape Cinema, Devi Cineplex, Kamala Theatre,
PVR Cinemas, Sangam, AGS, INOX National, Abirami
Theatres,
TV TODAY
STAR MOVIES
07:07 PM Ice Age: Dawn of the
Dinosaurs
09:00 PM The Incredible Hulk
11:13 PM The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Voyage of the Dawn
Treader
3
7
4
8
2
The object is
to insert the
numbers in
the boxes to
satisfy only
one condition:
each row,
column and
3x3 box must
contain the
digits
1 through 9
exactly once:
Easy nah?
3
2
8
05:30 PM Margazhi Maha Utsavam
10:02 PM Kaliyugam
06:30 PM Galatta Comedy
10:30 PM Sirippu Varudhu
07:00 PM Ramayanam
07:30 PM Nadhaswaram
11:00 PM Telebuy
07:30 PM News
08:00 PM Deiva Magal
VIJAY TV
08:00 PM Hits
08:30 PM Vamsam
04:30 PM Cricket Extra : Post Show
09:00 PM En Iniya Thozhiye
08:30 PM Akka
09:00 PM Priyamanaval
06:00 PM En Kanavan En Thozhan
09:30 PM Gouravam
06:30 PM Thirai Vaanil
4
1
2
6
3
8
5
5
8
3
4
6
7
9
8
2
6
5
3
1
9
4
7
6
5
3
1
7
4
9
2
8
4
9
3
7
6
8
7
2
9
5
8
1
2
4
5
3
1
6
5
3
4
1
7
2
6
5
8
4
2
9
9
8
1
6
3
7
6
8
9
3
1
7
5
2
4
STAR SPORTS 1
07:00 PM Cricket Legends
07:30 PM Mann Vasanai
07:30 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Quarter Final
2: Bangladesh vs. India
08:00 PM Karuthamma
08:30 PM Cricket Legends
08:30 PM Alaipayuthey
09:00 PM Match Point : Quarter
Final 2: Bangladesh vs.
India
07:00 PM Sindhu Bhairavi
09:00 PM Priyamana Thozhi
09:30 PM Vani Rani
06:30 PM Puthu Kavithai
10:00 PM Koppium-Crime Time
09:30 PM Poomagal
10:00 PM Sakthi
10:30 PM Manmatha Leelai
10:00 PM Kavidhaiyae Theriyuma
10:30 PM Azhagi
07:00 PM Kalyanam Mudhal Kaadhal
Varai
10:30 PM English News
11:00 PM Ponmana Chelvan
07:30 PM Aandaal Azhagar
10:45 PM Tamil News
KALAIGNAR TV
08:00 PM Deivam Thandha Veedu
11:00 PM Thenkinnam
04:00 PM Pudhu Paadal
08:30 PM Saravanan Meenatchi
SUN TV
04:30 PM Sirippu Varudhu
09:00 PM Mahabharatham
08:30 PM Jesus Calls
03:00 PM Valli
05:00 PM Endrum Super
09:30 PM Super Singer T20
10:00 PM Thiraivimarsanam
03:30 PM Unnai Ninaithu
05:30 PM Kalai Koil
10:30 PM Office
10:30 PM Magane En Marumagane
06:00 PM Mundhanai Mudichu
06:00 PM Utchakattam
06:30 PM Pasamalar
06:30 PM Idhu Pudhusu
11:00 PM Kalyanam Mudhal Kaadhal
Varai
07:00 PM News
07:00 PM News
POLIMER TV
04:00 PM Mannan
08:00 PM Gunamakum Anbu
9
9
06:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup
2015 H/ls : Quarter Final
2: Bangladesh vs. India
06:00 PM Raj News
5
2
05:00 PM S K Shoppe
10:00 PM News Headlines
1
7
04:30 PM Cricket Extra : Post Show
05:00 PM New Songs
9
1
11:30 PM Kumki
05:30 PM Vellithira
6
3
3
RAJ TV
09:30 PM Madippakkam Madhavan
3
3
ANSWER TO
SUDOKU 3020
(18.3.2015)
04:30 PM Kollywood Gallery
8
9
5
1
1
08:00 PM Bhavani
09:00 PM Odi Vilayadu Pappa
3
5
7
07:30 PM Mohini
08:30 PM Romapuri Paandiyan
JAYA TV
6
8
3021
11:07 PM The Hangover Part III
Mayajaal, Escape Cinema, Devi Cineplex, Kamala Theatre,
Apart from cleaning the canal, officials should also make sure that
garbage is disposed judiciously.’
- NT Bureau
6
09:00 PM The Conjuring
KATHAM KATHAM
AR
G
T NA
06:00 PM WWE Main Event
07:00 PM UEFA Champions League
2014/15 H/ls
08:00 PM UEFA Champions League
2014/15 : Dortmund vs.
Juventus
10:00 PM WWE Main Event
11:00 PM WTA Magazine Show
11:30 PM UEFA Europa League
2014/15 : Dynamo Kyiv
vs. Everton
TEN
CRICKET
10:00 PM Cricket Live
10:30 PM Late Cut
11:00 PM Match Point : Quarter
Final 2: Bangladesh vs.
India
TEN SPORTS
03:00 PM Cricket Classics : England
vs. West Indies: December `97
04:00 PM West Indies Tour of South
Africa 2014/15 H/ls : 1st
Test
03:00 PM UEFA Champions League
2014/15 : Dortmund vs.
Juventus
06:00 PM England Tour of Sri
Lanka 2014 H/ls : 4th
ODI
05:00 PM UEFA Champions League
2014/15 H/ls : Preview
Show
07:00 PM Tri-Nation 2014
(Zim,SA,Aus) H/ls : 4th
ODI: Zimbabwe vs. Australia
05:30 PM Volvo Ocean Race : Sanya
to Auckland
08:00 PM West Indies Tour of South
Around Town
CHENNAI
Trains to get
extra coaches
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
Southern Railway will permanently augment the following trains:
Train No.1268212681 CoimbatoreChennai Central Coimbatore weekly
express trains will be permanently
augmented with one sleeper coach.
Train No1268912690 Chennai
Central-Nagercoil Chennai Central
weekly express trains will get two
second class sleeper coaches.
Train No 1603116032 Chennai
Central- Jammu Tawi Chennai
Central Andaman tri-weekly express
trains will get one sleeper coach.
Train No 1609316094 Chennai
Central-Lucknow Chennai Central
bi-weekly express trains will get one
extra sleeper coach.
Train No 2265122652 Chennai
Central-Palani Chennai Central express trains will get one second class
sleeper coach.
Exhibition on
disaster mgt
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
National Disaster Response Force
(NDRF) will organise a one-day
community capacity-building programme through ‘Mock Exercise and
Disaster Management Exhibition’ at
IIT-Madras on Friday.
‘The objective of this programme
is to highlight the necessity of a
coordinated approach to disaster
management and also to raise the
level awareness among public about
disasters and disaster management
mechanism inplace,’ said a release.
FLY like
a BIRD
q People visit IIT-M to
experience flight stimulator
ANURADHA C
Chennai, Mar 19:
In Chennai, once there was a craze
in this game called flight stimulator
where one could imagine oneself to
be the pilot and fly high in the sky.
Now that has been made into reality where the last few days saw the
city people visiting the IIT-Madras
campus, to experience something
that was out of this world.
Birdly, the virtual reality flight
simulator was launched in Chennai
on 16 March in the IIT campus by
Swissnex India after it was kept in
Bengaluru from 10 to 13 March.
It was kept here for two days where
people booked their slots for the
once in a lifetime experience.
Birdly was conceived and designed in Switzerland recently. ‘The
experience of flying on Birdly is quite
different from the ones hitherto experienced by mankind. While a pilot
can fly the plane, he cannot become
the plane itself. Birdly changes that.
You become the bird, soaring and
diving at will’, says Salome, one of
the officials.
The user mounts on the installation,
puts on a pair of virtual reality goggles (Occulus Rift) and gets the feeling of embodying a bird, in this case,
THURSDAY
19 MARCH 2015
Narada Gana
Sabha secy
passes away
How
it works?
The user mounts on the installation, puts
on a pair of virtual reality goggles (Occulus
Rift) and gets the feeling of embodying a bird
- a red kite. The user, then, flies over a 3D
model of a landscape complete with
wind, smell and sound.
India always strives to bring the best
of Swiss innovation to showcase in
India. To this end, we are very happy
to bring Birdly, which is clearly poised
to receive worldwide acclaim.’
A viewer, who came to experience
Birdly, said, ‘It was a one in a million
kind of experience. For the entire
A visitor experiencing the virtual reality flight simulator at IIT-Madras
recently.
a red kite. The user, then, flies over
a 3D model of a landscape complete
with wind, smell and sound.
Birdly was created by Professor
Max Rheiner from IAD Interaction
Design at Zurich University of the
Arts (ZHdK). It was developed in
2013 for the anniversary of the
Birdlife Centre in Zurich on the
theme of ‘fascination with flight’. As
a media artist with an interest in
out-of-body experiences, Rheiner
was happy to design the installation.
His design research is dedicated to
embodiment design.
Birdly comes with a team of experts who will travel to other places,
where it will be opened to the general public to experience.
Dr BalzStrasser, CEO of Swissnex
India and Consul General of Switzerland in Bengaluru, said ‘Swissnex
City boy on a high
every level of
competition,
we were tested
on the analytical ability. The
main challenge
was providing
web solutions
Nishant Jain
in a stipulated
time of three hours, without any
internet connection. Also, product description was new to me as it was from
business perspective while we learnt
only net-application-based-education.
But, the knowledge, I received from
NIIT helped me in a big way. In nutshell,
it is a tedious journey.
How is your preparation for the
finals?
A. I am focusing on different domains, both web as well as offline
solutions. It requires a lot of practice.
Currently, I am concentrating on
new technologies and working on to
reduce stress level, which will enable
me to perform well.
On representing India?
A: It is a special moment to represent the country. Though I have not
participated in many competitions, I
believe that this is a right platform
to prove my abilities and expertise.
I hope that I can realise my dreams
and make our country proud.
Eight districts
picked for health
programme
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
Eight districts in the State have
been selected for ‘Mission Indhradhanush - 201’, the Central government’s immunisation programme.
Coimbatore, Kancheepuram, Madurai, Thiruvallur, Tiruchi, Tirunelveli, Vellore and Virudhunagar have
been selected in the first phase of
the programme to be rolled out between March and June, according
to a Central government release.
Under the programme, immunisation for seven life-threatening
diseases (diphtheria, whooping
cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis,
measles and hepatitis B) will be
included. In select districts/States,
vaccination against Japanese
encephalitis and Haemophilus influenza type B will be provided. For
pregnant women, tetanus vaccine
would be administered. As many
as 201 districts in 28 States with
the highest number of partially vaccinated and unvaccinated children
under two years of age and pregnant women will be targeted.
Advocates to
boycott courts
tomorrow
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
The Madras High Court Advocates’
Association on Wednesday said it
would boycott courts on 20 March to
protest against the recognition given
by the Bar Council of Tamilnadu and
Puducherry to the Tamilnadu Advocates’ Association (TNAA), led by S
Prabakaran. A rally would be taken
out around the Bar Council.
Awardees of the 115th dance festival of Sri Parthasarathy Swami
Sabha with Naradha Gana Sabha president Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti,
secretary M Krishnamurthy and co-ordinator P S Padmanabhan at the
valedictory function held in Chennai recently.
Sabha honours best
dance performers
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
The best performers at the 115th
year dance festival of Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha held at Naradha
Gana Sabha were honoured at the
valedictory function here recently.
According to a press release, sabha
president and industrialist Nalli
Kuppuswami Chetti presented cash
awards and certificates to the best
performers in the presence of Urmila Satynanaraynan, Sheela Unnikrishnan and sabha secretary M
Krishnamurthy.
The 50-day dance festival held from
18 January to 3 March featured 114
dance programmes.
Speaking on the occasion, Nalli
Kuppuswami Chetti said, ‘Highlights
of the festival included performances by students of gurus Urmila
Sathyanarayanan, V P Dhananjayan, Sreekala Bharath, Sheela Unnikrishnan, Roja Kannan, Anitha
Guha, Padma S Raghavan and
several others.’
Best Performers (senior category)
awards were given to Ashwini Viswanathan, Jayanthi Srivatsan, Jayalakshmi Narayanan, V R Priyabandhavi
Hariprasad, Vidya Sankaranarayanan and Dr Rajashree Warrier.
Best Performers: Taruni Sanjay,
Anushri Eswaran, H L Thrishyaa ,
K S Sneha, Narayini Muthumaran,
Rashmi Ravishankar, Subhashri
Sashidharan, Kirtana Parthasarathy, Sanjena Ramesh, Varsha
Jayalakshmi, Shreya Rajagopalan, Sairam, Priti Pandurangan,
Abinaya Balachandran, Sruthi
Tanikella, Sravya Tanikella, Sunitta Menghanaani, Chandana, P
G Ashwathi, Tanya Saxena and
Rashmica Chandrasekar.
Best Special Performence Award:
Pavithra Maduram.
The dance programmes were coordinated by P S Padmanabhan.
Birdly was created
by Professor Max
Rheiner from IAD
Interaction Design at
Zurich University of
the Arts (ZHdK). It
was developed in 2013
for the anniversary of
the Birdlife Centre in
Zurich on the theme of
‘fascination with flight’
time the stimulation lasted, I had
the feeling that I was not a human
anymore, but a bird who can fly as
high as I wanted to. It is different
than playing just a virtual stimulation game. It was an unforgettable
experience for me’.
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
Narada Gana
Sabha secretary
and Federation of
City Sabhas president R Krishnaswamy, died at a
hospital at Mylapore
R Krishnaswamy here on Wednesday. He was 79 and is survived by wife
and two sons.
A native of Harikesanallur in Tirunelveli district, Krishnaswamy, an advocate by training, was associated with
Narada Gana Sabha since its inception
in 1958.
He was the secretary of the sabha
for over 50 years. He was also one
of the trustees of G A Trust that established the Pandurangan temple in
Thennangur.
A classmate of veteran actor Cho
S Ramaswamy, Krishnaswamy was
responsible for introducing plays at
the sabha and also helped popularise
namasankeerthans during the music
seasons.
Krishnaswamy will be cremated
today.
Course in
hospital mgt
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
The Sankara Nethralaya Academy
will offer a certificate course in hospital management to equip participants
with managerial techniques.
It will be conducted over 12 weekends on Saturdays from 2 to 5 pm at
Sankara Nethralaya main campus,
College Road.
The session commences from 4
April and the last date for receiving
filled in applications is 20 March.
For details, contact: 97104
85295/98405 23560.
‘Learning is a
continuous process’
q To represent India at
World Skills Competition in Brazil
SHWETA V
Chennai, Mar 19:
Nishant Jain, a student from NIIT
(Chennai) who emerged as a winner under IT Software Solutions for
Business (ITSSB) skill category, will
represent the country at World Skills
Competition (WSC) event.
The final leg of WSC will be taking
place in Sao Paulo, Brazil between
11and 16 August. He shares his experience and the preparation for the
global competition with News Today.
Excerpts from the interview:
On the journey?
A. WSC comprised of three rounds
- preliminary, semifinal and final. At
3
q 463 students get degrees
at Saveetha University
Training in oil
processing
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
MSME- Development Institute is
organising a week long training programme on ‘Essential Oils Processing and Perfume Blending’ from 6
April at 65/1, GST Road, Guindy.
The training programme will focus
on distallation of corrainder leaf oil,
euclypatus oil, palmrosa oil, geranium oil, rose mary oil, lemongrass
oil and value addition of essential oils.
Government of India recognised
certificates would be given. Educated,
un employed youths and budding
entrepreneurs can participate.
For details contact K Kandasamy at
93815 04133 or 99413 39788.
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
True learning transcends the frontiers of cities and countries wherever
they may be situated in the world.
For the really learned person, the
process of learning is a continuous
one wherever he/she goes, said
Malaysian Deputy Education Minister
P Kamalanathan.
Addressing students at the eighth
convocation of Saveetha University
at Saveetha’s M M Conventional
Centre at Velappanchavady here
yesterday, he said education is a very
important part of one’s life. ‘It shapes
the fundamentals of how we react
or respond, and more importantly,
equips us with the right knowledge
and skills that allow us to succeed
in life’.
At the convocation, as many as
463 students received their degrees.
Four students received PhD and
157 students received postgraduate degrees.
The university also conferred Doctor of Science (Honorius Causa) on
R Venkataswami, head, Apollo’s
National Institute for Re-constructive Surgery and N R Madhava Menon, IBA Chair on Continuing Legal
Education, National Law School of
India University.
The convocation ceremony was
presided over by the university
president and Chancellor N M
Veeraiyan. Vice-Chancellor Mythili
Bhaskaran, University Academic
of Education director Deepak Nallaswamy, advisor R Rajagopal, registrar D Prabhavathy, SMC director
Saveetha Rajesh, directors Remya
Deepak and Rajesh were present.
Is acid an easy
weapon to attack?
q Many shops still sell them for domestic purposes
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
Breaking the misconception that
acid attacks are confined to women,
an incident in the city wherein acid
meant for domestic use was thrown
on an elderly man and a youth have
shocked many.
A 48-year-old man and a youngster
sustained injuries at R K Nagar when
acid meant for use in toilets was
thrown at the former by a woman in
a fit of rage.
It may be noted that a section incorporated by the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 provides for stringent
punishment for perpetrators, and
was meant to act as a deterrent to
the horrifying attacks.
However the increase in the
number of such cases in recent
years, seem otherwise.
Pragya Singh, an acid victim
said that the section which earlier
provided for imprisonment for not
less than 14 years, has now been
slashed to 10 years.
Although police officials said that
the injuries are supercial as it was
diluted toilet-use acid, doctors said
that the aftermath of the attack is
generally unpredictable. ‘The physical pain might not be intense but the
mental agony the victim undergoes
will make them slip into that phase of
inferno,’ said a city- based psychiatrist Lakshmi Vaidyanathan.
Yesterday’s incident also questions
official negligence in regulating acid
sale.
‘Almost 80 per cent of the shopkeepers in the city are unaware
that such laws actually exists in the.
country and it is the easy accessibility
of acid that is accentuating the crime
rates,’ mentioned Pragya.
Moreover, not just in rural households, urban people too use acid to
clean their washrooms, thus making
the substance popular for domestic
purposes.
Social workers should play a
prominent role in creating awareneness about the drastic affects of
acid usage,’ Pragya added.
Also, measures for proper treatment, aftercare and rehabilitation
are ineffective, so to say.
While the Act makes it mandatory to provide free medication
and directs the State governments
to compensate the victims at the
The physical pain
might not be intense
but the mental agony
the victim undergoes
will make them slip
into that phase of
inferno,’ said a citybased psychiatrist
Lakshmi
Vaidyanathan
earliest, its implementation is poor,
it is said.
‘It is a great struggle to avail
compensation. In many cases,
victims were paid only Rs 50,000
and are neglected at government
hospitals,’ Pragya concluded.
Blend
4 THURSDAY
19 MARCH 2015
WHAT
WH
AT NEWS
NEW
NEW
EWS
S TODAY
TODA
TO
DAY
DA
Y PRINTS
PRIN
PR
INTS
IN
TS IS
IS NEWS
NEWS THAT
TTHA
HAT
HA
T COUNTS
COUN
CO
UNTS
UN
TS
Thought-provoking
I
n a landmark judgment virtually redrawing the criteria for
declaring a community ‘backward’, the Supreme Court has
scrapped the UPA government’s notification that declared Jats as
OBCs. Holding that the identification of a group as ‘backward’
cannot be solely made on the basis of caste, a bench of Justice
Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R.F. Nariman significantly said ‘new
practices, methods and yardsticks have to be continuously evolved,
moving away from caste-centric definition of backwardness’. The
most distressed in the society need to be identified for extension
of benefits and palliative care. The recognition of the third gender
(transgenders/ eunuchs) as a socially and educationally backward
class of citizens by the apex court in April last year was a path finder,
the Bench said. In other words, the court is questioning the entire
basis of reservation formula that is in vogue as of now.
Just as well. For, reservations ---- much needed no doubt --- have
become entitlements for certain entrenched classes due to nondynamic stasis. Whereas society, for whichthe reservations are aimed
at, is in a constant state of flux. But our political class still doesn’t
understand this. Playing vote-bank politics, they still harp on old
dog-eared arguments that ill serve the society at large. Take Union
Minister Birender Singh’s reaction post the Supreme Court ruling:
‘On the basis of social demarcation, if Yadavs and Gujjars can get
reservation, why not Jats?’
This is what, the court feels, needs a change. While calling for
thinking beyond caste for identifying socially and educationally
backward classes, it wants an overhaul of the reservation policies,
which allow advanced sections to benefit merely because others
better placed are already in the list.
Quota in jobs may be a constitutional goal to undo the historical
injustice to backward castes, but the court has asked for redefining
affirmative action. Asserting that caste is a significant factor but not
the sole reason for OBC status, it has suggested a periodic revision
of the list. The apex court has questioned a policy that keeps in
mind only historical injustice and ignores 21st century realities and
how some communities have advanced. In other words, a backward
community cannot remain backward forever.
The message to the State: Social groups which would be most
deserving must necessarily be a matter of continuous evolution.
Even the ruling NDA had backed the quota for Jats, who plan to
launch an agitation and file a review petition. A petition challenging
their inclusion in the special backward class in Haryana is already
pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. For long, it’s
been felt that if anyone needs special treatment, it is the economically
weak. The SC has laid down new norms that could mark a change,
even an end of quota for the rich among the Scheduled Castes and
the Scheduled Tribes.
Derek O’Brien
@quizderek
Katrina Kaif
@KatrinaKaif
ISIS involved in
Tunisia assault?
Hunt on for suspects in museum attack
TUNIS:
The overnight attack on Tunisia’s
national museum, which killed at
least 17 people, most of them foreign
tourists including an Australian, has
prompted a chorus of international
outrage.
Tunisia’s prime minister said two
gunmen opened fire on tourists as
they got off a bus outside the museum, then chased them inside.
The Australian Government has
confirmed that a dual AustralianColombian citizen is among those
killed. The brazen daylight assault
has raised new security fears in Tunisia - the birthplace of the Arab Spring.
The attackers also held several
tourists hostage as pictures posted
on Twitter showed images from inside
the museum, showing people squatting on the floor.
All hostages were however freed as
Tunisia Special Forces took cover,
killing two gunmen in the security
operation that went on for two hours.
Though it is yet to be ascertained
that who was behind the attack, a
top EU official has blamed the Islamic
Its funny how you can do nice
things for people all the time
and they never notice. But once
you make one mistake, its never
forgotten.
Vitamin D can treat
age-related diseases
WASHINGTON: University Chicago Marcella Niehoff
Vitamin D may play a vital role in the School of Nursing (MNSON).
prevention and treatment of chronic
Older adults are at risk for vitamin D
diseases associated with ageing such deficiency due to diet, reduced time
as diabetes and cancer, according to outdoors and poor skin absorption of
new research.
the nutrient, researchers said. With
Researchers reviewed
the number of people ages 65 and
evidence that suggests an
older expected to more than double
association between vitamin
from 2012 to 2060, the problem will
D deficiency and chronic
become much more prevalent,
diseases associated with HEALTH
researchers said. ‘Better
ageing such as cognitive
understanding the reladecline, depression, osteoporosis,
tionship between vitamin D
cardiovascular disease, high blood
pressure, Type 2 diabetes and can- and chronic diseases in older adults
and whether treatment of vitamin D
cer.
‘Vitamin D deficiency is a com- deficiency can prevent or treat these
mon, serious medical condition that disorders is important given the insignificantly affects the health and creasing number of people at risk for
well-being of older adults,’ said Sue these health issues,’ said Meghan
Penckofer, study author, from Loyola Meehan, study author.
Good show
Sir,
Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth deserves applause for winning
the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Championship in Basel,
Switzerland.
As the first Indian to win this title, he has set a new benchmark of success
for Badminton players.
World No 4 Srikanth won the $120,000 Swiss Open after defeating defending champion Viktor Alexson of Denmark, ranked sixth in the world, 21-15
12-21 21-14 in a thrilling 47-minute summit clash last Sunday.
Preethi, Chennai
ADDRESS YOUR LETTERS TO :
The Editor, News Today, 85, Mount Road, Guindy, Chennai - 600 032.
or e-mail to : [email protected] / [email protected]
State for the Bardo Museum attack.
High Representative of the EU for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,
Federica Mogherini said that it was
the ISIS that ‘had become particularly
active in neighbouring Libya, was behind the atrocity’, the Mirror reported.
‘The EU is determined to mobilise
all the tools it has to fully support
C
Tunisia in the fight against terrorism,’
she added.
The EU official’s suspicion does not
seem far-fetched as the ISIS had,
just a couple of days ago, released a
video spouting advice to Boko Haram
fighters and urging Tunisian jihadists
to follow suit, reported the SITE Intel
Group.
Islamic State (IS)-linked accounts
on social media have begun expressing joy following the 17 March
attack on Bardo Museum in Tunisia’s
capital, wherein two armed men
reportedly killed at least 19 people
and took several hostages. The attack comes after various releases in
recent months by IS and its supporters aimed at recruiting Tunisians and
inciting attacks. ‘If this attack was carried out by the Islamic State, it didn’t
come from out of nowhere,’ said SITE
Director Rita Katz. ‘Islamic State officials, supporters, and fighters have
been urging for an attack in Tunisia
in the group’s name for a while now.’
And on the day of attack on the
museum, another IS-linked account
tweeted, ‘Allah permitting, there will
be earthshaking surprises in Tunisia,
Egypt, and Libya during these days.
We are coming O Rome,’ the SITE
Intel Group translated.
Also, the ISIS Twitter accounts that
have welcome with joy the news of
Tunisia terror attack, have renewed
their calls for similar attacks , tweeted
SITE Intel Group Director Rita Katz.
L ICK
PIC
A train moves on its tracks through the snow covered field along with Jammu-Srinagar National Highway after heavy snowfall at Qazigund
in Anantnag district. In the other photograph, Kashmiri villagers walk on a road engulfed in fog in Tangmarg, about 38 kilometers (24 miles)
northwest of Srinagar, India.
DUBAI:
A top UAE-based diary producer
has claimed to be the first company
in the world to introduce ice creams
and milk powder from camel milk to
the mass market.
The products introduced by Al Ain
Dairy are now officially available in
select retail outlets throughout the
UAE under the ‘Camelait’ brand.
‘This is a monumental achievement
not only in the history of Al Ain Dairy,
but the UAE as a whole,’ said Al Ain
Dairy CEO, Abdullah Saif Al Darmaki.
Handling the complex proteins of
camel milk in the pasteurisation proc-
Today
VOICE MAIL
ISIS Twitter accounts have welcome with
joy the news of Tunisia terror attack. They
have renewed their calls for similar attacks
BRAVING THE ELEMENTS
Ice cream from
camel milk
introduced
What odds would u have
got that 2 countries playing
in World Cup QF would have
national anthems written by the
same person ?
CHENNAI
ess to produce ice cream was a major
challenge that was overcome during
the innovation process, the company
said in a statement.
The ice cream is available in six
flavors - date, saffron, cardamom,
chocolate, carmel and lite raspberry
vanilla. Another product from the
company is camel milk powder, which
is made by evaporating 100 per cent
natural fresh camel milk to dryness.
‘As the demand for naturally nutritious products continually rises in European and North American markets,
we feel the presence for our Camelait
products is necessary now more than
ever,’ Al-Darmaki said.
‘And with new studies showing
promising medical benefits of camel
milk, it is our mission to ensure these
locally produced products are available to consumers around the world,’
he added.
Camelait products were introduced
in the UAE with the inception of the
Al Ain Dairy camel farm in 2004 and
have been a staple on supermarket
shelves since.
Michelle Obama in Japan
to promote girls’ education
TOKYO:
US first lady Michelle Obama and
her Japanese counterpart Akie
Abe announced plans today to
deepen cooperation in helping girls
in developing nations fi nish their
educations.
Michelle, who in her online travel
journal described her trip as a “part
of a journey that began decades
ago, back when I was a little girl,”
is visiting Japan and Cambodia,
who are among Asia’s richest and
poorest nations.
As a major aid donor, Japan plans
to cooperate with the communitybased ‘Let Girls Learn’ initiative
recently announced by President
Barack Obama and his wife. It announced plans to devote 42 billion
yen (USD 340 million) over three
years to supporting girls’ empowerment and gender sensitive education.
Japan and the US also agreed to
focus more development assistance
on supporting girls’ education. The
Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers will also cooperate with the
US first lady Michelle Obama,
and her Japanese counterpart
Akie Abe pose at Iikura Guest
House in Tokyo.
Peace Corps, which is implementing
the Let Girls Learn program.
The program, led by the Peace
Corps and other aid organizations,
NEWS MAKER
of the day
is meant to help get the at least 62
million girls who are unable to attend
school back into classes. It is being
rolled out in 11 countries, initially,
including Albania, Benin, Burkina
‘It’s germ games
instead of war games’
VANCOUVER: we should get going.’ A room off
Bill Gates has opened a mock Eb- a hallway was transformed into an
ola field hospital at the prestigious Ebola station where TED attendTED Conference as part of a call ees got a taste of meticulous and
tedious precautions health care
to be battle-ready for a deadly
workers must use to prevent
global epidemic.
infection.
The Microsoft software
Playing the part of an
mogul and philanthropist
Ebola-fi ghting doctor incalled for ‘germ games
volved wriggling into overnot war games’ to train resized rubber boots and
sponse forces and reveal
yellow bodysuits. Rubber
holes in defenses.
Bill Gates
gloves were layered over
‘The Ebola epidemic was a
wake-up call to get ready,’ Gates hands, sealing tightly at sleeve
said during an on-stage presenta- cuffs. Heads and faces were covered with hoods, goggles and
tion at TED in Vancouver.
‘There is no need to panic - we breathing masks.
Under it all went a new cooling vest
don’t need to horde cans and
spaghetti in the basement - but developed by the Gates Foundation.
Faso, Cambodia, Georgia, Ghana,
Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique,
Togo and Uganda. Hundreds of
new, grassroots projects meant
to facilitate girls’ education are
planned. The first lady, trained as
a lawyer, and Abe, daughter of a
confectionary magnate, have made
furthering the cause of children
and women among their priorities.
Abe is soft spoken but has openly
disagreed with her husband, Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe, on some issues, while actively backing his
efforts to promote greater gender
equality in government and business. Michelle and Abe met with
Japanese university students. The
US first lady will also pay a call
on Emperor Akihito and Empress
Michiko and meet with the prime
minister. Tomorrow she will visit
the ancient capital, Kyoto, before
traveling to Cambodia.
The ‘Let Girls Learn’ program is
global, but White House officials
say it also reflects a US commitment to be more involved in the
Asia-Pacific region.
‘Milky way
houses billions
of planets’
LONDON:
Our Milky Way galaxy may be
home to billions of planets orbiting
their host stars in a habitable zone,
where there could be liquid water
and possibility of life, a new study
has found.
Using NASA’s Kepler satellite, astronomers have found about 1,000
planets around stars in the Milky
Way and they have also identified
about 3,000 other potential planets.
By analysing these planetary
systems, researchers from the
Australian National University and
the Niels Bohr
Institute in Copenhagen have
calculated the probability for the
number of stars in the Milky Way
that might have planets in the habitable zone.
Enterprise
CHENNAI
‘Country staring at
skill catastrophe’
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
India needs two lakh apprentices
annually for the next 10 years in
order to avoid any employability
‘catastrophe’ in the country, according to staffing company TeamLease
Services.
‘With 10 lakh youth entering the
workforce every year for the next
20 years and more than 50 per cent
of them lacking employability skills,
India is soon going to be facing
not a demographic dividend but a
catastrophe’, TeamLease Services
co-founder Rituparna Chakraborty
said here on Wednesday.
The only solution to address this
job emergency is to create a robust
apprenticeship culture, she said.
India needs two lakh apprentices for the next 10 years to ease
the growing employability crisis,
Chakraborty added.
Even as policymakers all over the
world have recognised ‘learning
by doing’ and ‘learning while earning’ as a very important vehicle for
tackling the skill crisis, the country’s
apprenticeship regime has not
gained the desired momentum, she
maintained. ‘We have only three
lakh apprentices while Germany
has three million, Japan 10 million and China 20 million. From
an employer perspective also the
participation rate in India is negligible’.
In an effort to revitalise the
apprenticeship ecosystem and
increase the number of apprentices from the current three lakh
to two crore, TeamLease Skill
University in association with
CII, AICTE (All India Council for
Technical Education), National
Skill Development Corporation
has formulated NETAP (National
Employability Through Apprenticeship Program).
Established to increase corporate
participation, NETAP allows companies to appoint apprentices in
any trade or function at any location in India.
Further, while corporates have to
pay a stipend equivalent to the applicable unskilled minimum wage,
the spend qualifies as Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) contribution.
From an apprentice perspective,
NETAP offers opportunities across
22 high growth industries for apprenticeships across the country
for durations between three and 24
months, the staffing company said.
Govt allocates Rs 200 crore for agro-industry
New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI):
The government on Wednesday
launched a Rs 200 crore scheme
to set up a network of technology
and incubation centres to accelerate entrepreneurship and promote
start-ups for innovation and entrepreneurship in agro-industry.
‘The Scheme for Promotion of
Innovation, Entrepreneurship and
Agro-Industry will open vistas of
incubation landscape to the micro
segment of the vast rural economy’,
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Minister Kalraj Mishra
said at the launch.
‘The scheme is designed to provide necessary skill set for setting
up business enterprises and also
to facilitate the market linkages
available to entrepreneurs and to
provide hand holding for a critical
period to ensure self sustainability’,
he said.
The scheme envisages creation of
a framework for start-up promotion
Cisco to start new unit
Minister for Communications and IT Ravi Shankar
Prasad said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
At present, the over $47 billion US-based firm has its
largest research and development (R&D) facility outside
the US in India. But, it does not have any manufacturing
facility in the country.
When contacted, a Cisco spokesperson said: ‘Cisco
believes that the government and industry should work
together to remove roadblocks and provide enablers
so that India can become a leader in manufacturing’.
DuPont goes desi
New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI):
Science-based products and services firm DuPont
on Wednesday announced opening of an innovation
application centre in India to cater to the food industry
in the country. DuPont Nutrition & Health, a part of the
company, opened the centre in Gurgaon to serve food
industry in India, DuPont said in a statement. DuPont
Nutrition & Health president Matthias Heinzel said that
while the science of food is global, the taste and flavors
of food are local.
‘As we develop those local solutions, we need to be
able to work closely with our local customers on foods
they are developing for their consumers’, he added.
The centre, which has capabilities to expand, will
initially employ 15 to 20 people by 2015-end.
‘Among the focus areas of the Innovation Application Center will be protective cultures for dahi and
yogurt, soy protein products, ice-cream and more
nutritious, Indian snacks and biscuits tailored to meet
the regional taste and texture expectations’, DuPont
Nutrition & Health, regional leader, South Asia, Brian
Jones said.
LG eyes big sales
New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI):
LG Electronics is targeting a turnover of Rs 23,500
crore this year in India as part of a strategy to make
the country among the South Korean major’s top three
markets in three years time.
The company’s Indian arm LG Electronics India will
also invest a minimum Rs 500 crore this year in research
and development.
‘India is amongst the top five global markets for LG
globally but we expect changes in the rankings in the
next three years. I want to bring India’s ranking as the
third largest market for LG’, LG Electronics India managing director Soon Kwon said.
At present, top five markets are the US, Korea, Brazil,
Russia and India.
Commenting on the company’s sales target in India,
he said: ‘This year we targeting a minimum of 25 per
cent increase in turnover at Rs 23,500 crore’.
Vasanth & Co CMD H Vasanthakumar with Samsung’s global president and CEO H C Hong and other
officials at the retailer’s T Nagar branch in Chennai recently.
House at the click
of a mouse
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
Akshaya, in association with 99acres.com,
launched iHomes in the
city yesterday. Addressing
the media here, Akshaya’s
vice president (sales and
marketing) K Srikanth said,
‘Since 1995, our key focus
is in bringing innovation
and new concepts in the
real estate segment. We
are focusing on online marketing which is the first of
its kinds. We have created
this platform for interactive
home buying options where
people can see the house
and buy and thus, we are
taking our group to the
next level.’ Through this
technology, users will be
able to select a housing unit
and buy it online.
Akshaya’s chairman and
CEO T Chitty Babu said,
‘Our volumes are growing to 2500 units in each
project. Customers are not
willing to spend 3-4 hours a
day to make a visit and get
all the details of the project.
More time is needed as it is
a huge investment. Thus,
we are tapping technol-
5
Sowing seeds for
a fruitful tomorrow
MAKING IT HAPPEN IN INDIA
New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI):
Networking solutions giant Cisco is planning to set up
a manufacturing facility in India and evaluating various
sops offered by the government to promote the Electronic System Design & Manufacturing sector, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
Besides, the government has so far received proposals from seven companies from the US and Japan or
their subsidiaries for investment in the country under the
Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS),
THURSDAY
19 MARCH 2015
ogy to enable customers
to have all options in their
hand’. 99 acres.com has
set up a call centre for
Akshaya to manage the
activities.
Info Edge (India) Ltd MD
and CEO Hitesh Oberoi
said, ‘Interaction, research
and real experience will be
provided to the consumers.
Soon, there will be a link
available. They can click
to get all the details and
make the payment. It is an
exclusive tie up with Akshaya and the agreement
is signed for a year.’
IKEA earmarks
25 million
euros
New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI):
IKEA Foundation, the
philanthropic arm of
Swedish furniture retail
major IKEA, is allocating 25 million euros this
year for India to enhance
activities on preventing
child labour and women
empowerment through its
partners.
The foundation that had
set a target of helping 100
million children globally
by this year has already
reached 178 million with
over 100 million in India
alone since starting its
activities 15 years ago in
Uttar Pradesh.
The Scheme for Promotion of Innovation,
Entrepreneurship and Agro-Industry will
open vistas of incubation landscape to the
micro segment of the vast rural economy’,
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSME) Minister Kalraj Mishra said
through Small Industries Development Bank
of India (SIDBI) by using innovative means of
finance like equity, quasi-equity, angel fund,
venture capital fund,
impact funds and challenge funds.
In order to ensure that credit is
available for start-ups, the MSME
Ministry has created a fund of funds
of Rs 60 crore to be channelised
through SIDBI.
‘A fund of funds has been created
under SIDBI and Rs 60 crore has
been earmarked for
the purpose’, Joint
Secretary in the
MSME Ministry Anil
Kumar said.
‘Success of the
scheme will lie in
how we are able to
converge the advantages and knowledge of various
stakeholders. The idea is to provide a platform on which multiple
stakeholders can work together and
address the employment needs of
rural areas,’ MSME Secretary Madhav Lal said.
The partner institutions would be
provided Rs three lakh per innovative idea selected for nurturing.
For successful commercialisation
and mentoring, a grant of Rs one
lakh per year for three years subject to a maximum of Rs three lakh
would be given.
The scheme also entails Rs 62.50
crore fund for setting up of incubation centres by National Small
Industries Corporation or Khadi and
Village Industries Commission or
Coir Board or any other institution/
agency of the State or Central government. Besides, Rs 61.50 crore
has been earmarked for setting up
of technology incubation centres.
A sum of Rs two crore has been
allocated for creation, updation
and maintenance of database of
technology centres network while
Rs 17.75 crore will be spent on
capacity building, including awards,
surveys, studies, exposure visits
and engagement of consultants.
Living life, the
Mahindra way
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
‘The Mahindra World City (MWC)
Club will mark the completion of the
third L, out of the three, which include
Life, Living and Livelihood’, said Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd’s executive
director , Pawan Goenka, during his
speech at the inauguration of the club
at Chengalpet yesterday.
The Mahindra World City, which was
started in 2002 as a partnership between Mahindra Group and TIDCO,
launched its MWC Club, and is said to
be the first of its kind at the GST Corridor to offer such a lifestyle option.
Pawan Goenka further said, ‘It
has taken a lot of effort, planning
and budget, for MWC to be what it
is today’.
The club is constructed in an outlay
of four acres, with 60,000 sq feet of
constructed space.
‘Mahindra World City (MWC) Club
will be the latest addition to this smart
city, and it would be an significant
addition’, said Mahendra World City
Developers Ltd’s chief operational
officer S Chandru.
He said that the club has been built
on a concept, inspired from the national bird, peacock.
‘The club will offer facilities for sports
like Tennis, Badminton, Billiards,
Squash, etc, and also other facilities
like gymnasium, swimming pool, saloon, spa, reading longue, restaurant,
party lawns, kids play area, and so
on, at a nominal price tag’, he added.
Mahindra World City Developers Ltd
chairman N Vaughul, said, ‘This city
was primarily seen as an industrial
sector, but has been slowly evolving
into a self-contained smart city’.
South Asia wing’s head and CMD of
BASF India Raman Ramachandran
said that the concept of a sustainable urban city was attractive and
something needed in India.
The CEO of Intergrated Cities
and Industrial Clusters, Mahindra
Lifespace Developers Ltd, Sangeetha
Prasad, and Mahindra Lifespace Developers’ managing director and CEO
Anitha Arjundas, were also present at
the inauguration.
Economy to grow 7.7%
this year: OECD
London, Mar 19 (PTI):
India is poised to grow 7.7 per cent
this year and eight per cent in 2016
to become the ‘fastest growing major
economy’, according to think-tank
OECD.
In its interim economic assessment
report released on Wednesday ,
OECD said said that over the next
two years India is set to grow faster
than China, where growth is slowing towards the official target of
around seven per cent. However, the
grouping cautioned that maintaining
rapid growth would be a challenge
for India despite the strong current
momentum.
The Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development’s
(OECD) bullish outlook for India
comes close on the heels of IMF
chief Christine Lagarde describing the
country as a ‘bright spot’ on cloudy
global horizon.
NAME CHANGE
NAME CHANGE
I, P.SAKKARAPANI, S o n
of Thiru Palayam, born on
10th March 1951 (native
district: Kancheepuram),
residing at No.8/16, K.K.
Street, Moulivakkam,
Porur, Sriperumbudur,
Kancheepuram-600 116,
shall henceforth be known as
P CHAKKARABANI.
P.SAKKARAPANI
Kancheepuram, 23rd
December 2014.
I, KANAGASABAI
THIAHARAJAN, S/o.
Thiaharajan, Date of Birth
16.11.1970 residing at
Old.5/9, New.No.9/9,
Pinjalla Subramanian Street,
Akshaya Flats, T. Nagar,
Chennai-600017. shall
henceforth be known as
KANAKSABAI THIAHARAJAN.
KANAGASABAI
THIAHARAJAN
NAME CHANGE
I, LISSY PRIYADARSAN,
residing at 4Frames
Sound Company,
No.6, Veerabhadran
Street, Valluvarkottam,
Nungambakkam,
Chennai - 600 034, shall
henceforth be known as
LISSY LAKSHMI.
LISSY PRIYADARSAN
"-$
6 75 &
" $8
. 9
: & ; ' '
" 5 3
"
5299&-
(,(< & 3 0
,1132=
4&5
PASSPORT LOST
This is to inform to the
general public that I have
lost my Passport. Bearing
No. Issued by RPO/Cochin I
lost the same at Anna Salai,
VOC Nagar, Pammal, Chennai-600 075 finders is /are
requested to hand over the
same to me at the below mentioned Address: K.M.ABBAS,
S/o. K.Muhamed Moideen,
No.94, 12th Street, Sankar
Nagar, Pammal, Chennai -75.
K.M.ABBAS
Cel:9444492514
Read
Every evening
ArcelorMittal’s
German plans
NRI billionaire Lakshmi Mittal-led
ArcelorMittal on Wednesday said it
will invest 88 million euros on its four
plants in Germany by December-end
to enhance their competitiveness.
‘Germany is a good location for the
production of high value added products. With our investments, we aim to
further increase the competitiveness
of our sites’, ArcelorMittal Germany
Holding CEO Frank Schulz said in a
company release.
The company said around 10 million
euros will be invested in the remodeling of two strands at the steel mill
in Bremen while another Euro 6.5
million will be spent in Duisburg.
It also proposed to invest around
Euro 34 million in the Eisenhüttenstadt site among others.
New Citi head
for subcontinent
American bank Citi on Wednesday
said it has appointed Niraj Parekh as
the head of finance for its operations
in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Parekh, the India Subcontinent cluster financial officer, replaces Abhijit
Sen, who has retired from service,
Citi said in a statement.
He will be reporting to its country
head for India, Pramit Jhaveri, and
also Mark Hart, the regional chief
financial officer for Asia-Pacific.
Parekh will be overseeing business planning and strategy, financial
planning and policies, balance sheet
management, financial controls and
reporting and tax matters, it said.
IndusInd Bank Ltd.
New No. 34, G.N. Chetty Road, T. Nagar, Chennai - 600 017.
POSSESSION NOTICE
(Under Rule 8(1) of Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002)
Whereas, The undersigned being the authorized officer of M/s. IndusInd
Bank Ltd., having office at New No. 34, G.N. Chetty Road, T. Nagar, Chennai
– 600 017, under the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets
and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (hereinafter the said Act)
and in exercise of powers conferred under Section 13 (12) read with
Rule 9 of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002 (hereinafter
the said Rules) issued Demand Notice dated 31.10.2014 calling upon the
borrower Mr. B. Devendra Babu son of Mr. Bucchi Babu and co-borrower
Mrs. N.C.Lalitha, wife of Mr.Devendra Babu, both residing at F-1A,
Vasanth Apartments, No. 41, Giriappa Road, T. Nagar, Chennai - 600017 to
repay the amount mentioned in the notice being Rs. 13,56,404/- (Rupees
Thirteen Lakhs Fifty Six Thousand Four Hundred and Four Only), within
60 days from the date of receipt of the said notice.
The borrower and the co-borrower having failed to repay the amount,
notice is hereby given to the borrower and the co-borrower and the public
in general that the undersigned has taken possession of the property
described herein below in exercise of powers conferred on him under
Section 13(4) of the said Act read with Rule 9 of the said Rules on this
18th day of March, of the year, 2015.
The borrower in particular and public in general is hereby cautioned
not to deal with the property and any dealings with the property will be
subject to the prior charge of M/s. IndusInd Bank Ltd., for an amount
Rs. 14,49,010/- (Rupees Fourteen Lakhs Forty Nine Thousand and Ten
Only) (as on 02.03.2015) along with interest and other applicable charges
thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF THE IMMOVABLE PROPERTY
(Secured Asset)
All that piece and parcel of 3.960% of undivided shares of land with
constructed area measuring 835 sq.ft. in the total extent of land measuring
an extent of 4 grounds and 1177 sq. ft. at flat no. F1 A, Vasanth Appartments
No. 41, Giriappa Road, T. Nagar, Chennai – 600017 comprised in the R.S.
No. 7010/1, Block no. 112, Mambalam Village situated within the subregistration district of T. Nagar and registration district of Madras South
and bounded on :North by : Door No. 42, Giriappa road belonging to Mrs.
Sukkubai, South by : House of R.M. Venkatachalam and house of Chandra,
East by : Giriappa Road, West by : House of Late K. Ramanathan
For IndusInd Bank Ltd.,
Date : 18.03.2015
M.Raja
Place : Chennai
(Authorized Officer)
6 THURSDAY
19 MARCH 2015
Sports
CHENNAI
What went wrong for Lanka?
We are two steps away from glory, says AB
Sydney, Mar 19 (AFP):
South Africa captain AB de
Villiers threw the tag chokers back in the face of the
team’s critics following their
World Cup quarter-final rout
of Sri Lanka.
The Proteas were in dominant form,
triumphing by nine wickets at the
Sydney Cricket Ground as they finally
won a World Cup knockout match at
the sixth time of asking.
I think we liked being called chokers, so we’ll just keep that tag and
move along as long as we keep winning,’ said de Villiers.
‘We didn’t come all this way just to
make it to the semi-finals, added the
skipper, not required to bat after making a stunning 162 not out against
the West Indies on his last SCG
appearance during the
pool stage.
South Africa’s victory
over Sri Lanka was all
but assured after they dismissed the 1996 champions
and runners-up at the last two World
Cups for just 133.
De Villiers lost the toss but, following good work by the Proteas’
pacemen, leg-spinner Imran Tahir
took four for 26 and off-spinner JP
Duminy’s haul of three for 29 included
a hat-trick.
South Africa now face a semi-final
in Auckland on 24 March against
the winners of this Saturday’s match
between New Zealand and the West
Indies. Reflecting on the display in the
field, de Villiers said: ‘I wouldn’t say
it’s the best, but definitely the most
City Sports
Hindustan varsity
emerges winner
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
Hindustan University men and
MOP Vaishnav Women’s team
emerged winners in Dr K C G
Verghese Memorial 24th Statelevel inter-collegiate basketball
tourney organised by School of
Physical Education and Sports,
Hindustan University.
International basketballer S
Prasana Venkatesh was the chief
guest for the valedictory function
and gave away the prizes.
‘Don’t show weakness’ ‘It means a
lot to us,’ said de Villiers of South
Africa’s victory. ‘On the other
side, it means absolutely nothing.
You’re going to have to start over
again. We are committed to the
fact that we’re not going to show
any weakness.’
important performance in the most
important game to date.
‘The way Dale (Steyn) and Kyle
(Abbott) started off and then Morne
(Morkel) who followed with a lot of
heat, and then obviously the two
spinners. We just worked really well
Misbah-ul-Haq
CC), M Shahrukh Khan (Grand
Slam CC), U Sushil (Globe Trotters
SC), Rahil S Shah (Vijay CC), R
Aushik Srinivas (Grand Slam CC),
Malolan Rangarajan (Vijay CC), K
H Gopinath (Jolly Rovers CC), A
Aswin Crist
(Vijay CC), W Antony Dhas (Globe
Trotters SC), Sunil Sam (Globe
Trotters SC) and Aniruda Srikanth
(Globe Trotters SC).
by selector, captain
London, Mar 19 (AP):
The prospects of an England recall
for Kevin Pietersen look bleak after
the maverick batsman was told he still
doesn’t figure in the national team’s
plans and comments in his explosive
autobiography may have caused
irreparable damage. Pietersen, England’s all-time leading run-scorer in all
formats, was ditched after last year’s
Ashes tour to Australia because of
his perceived negative influence in
the dressing room.
Doping violation:
Odesnik banned
London, Mar 19 (AP):
American tennis player Wayne
Odesnik was banned Wednesday
for 15
years after a second
Wayne Odesnik
doping
violation.
The International Tennis
Federation
said
Karachi, Mar 19:
Pakistan cricket captain Misbahul-Haq says his team wouldn’t mind
facing India in the semifinals if it
progresses beyond the quarterfinals
of the ongoing ICC World Cup.
In an exclusive interview to PTI
from Adelaide, Misbah said it will
be another opportunity for his
side to try and break the
jinx of not winning a
match
against
the arch-rival
i n World Cup.
It will be another
chance for us to go
there with a positive
frame of mind. We
would take
it like
another
opportunity
KP’s hopes dashed
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
All-rounder Rajagopal Sathish of
Jolly Rovers CC will lead the Tamilnadu team in the Syed Musthaq Ali
Twenty20 Tournament to be played
at Kochi from 25 to 29 March.
The rest of the team is as follows:
K. Bharath Shankar (Jolly Rovers
CC), B Aparajith (Vijay CC), B Indrajith (Vijay CC), Vijay Shankar (Vijay
guys who kept backing him. ‘I think
they must have been tempted a few
times to let him go and maybe for
me to take the gloves, but it was a
great call from them to stick with him.
He had a fantastic game and took a
couple of crucial catches.
‘The way he batted with confidence
was amazing. At that age, to go
through a patch like he has been
going through, to come out there
in a quarter-finals of the World Cup
with confidence shows what kind of
a player he is.’
Ready for a battle with
India again, says Misbah
Director, Hindustan University
Ashok Verghese presided over
the function, Vice Chancellor Dr
S Ramachandren and Registrar,
Hindustan University Dr Pon
Ramalingam were also present for
the function.
FINALS
Women: Hindustan University,
Chennai lost to M O P Vaishnav,
Chennai by 59 - 34.
Men: Hindustan University,
Chennai beat Sathyabhama University, Chennai by 76 - 58.
Sathish to lead
as a bowling unit.
It’s never easy to play Sri Lanka, especially in World Cup games. They’re
a tough team to beat, so I’m very
chuffed with what we’ve achieved’
A lot of credit goes to the selectors,
to the coach (Russell Domingo), the
the 29-year-old Odesnik tested positive for several banned substances,
including steroids, during tests in
December and January. The ban
was back-dated to Jan. 30 and
will run until 29 January, 2030.
Odesnik was first sanctioned
in 2010 for the possession of
human growth hormone. Odesnik
was off the tour form April 2010 to
August 2011 after pleading guilty
in Australia to importing HGH. He
denied using the drug, and repeatedly said he never tested positive.
The ITF originally banned him
for two years, but cut the penalty
in half, saying he cooperated
with investigators. At last year’s
U.S. Open, Odesnik earned a wildcard but lost to eventual finalist
Kei Nishikori in the first round.
It was the first time he played in
the tournament’s main draw since
2009, shortly before his first ban. This
year, he lost in qualifying ahead of the
Australian Open.
for us to break the shackles as we
have never won against India in the World Cup,
Misbah said.
India beat
Pakistan
i n
their
opening
match of the
ongoing megaevent at Adelaide.
We just have to go
in with a positive frame of
mind and self-belief and do
our best, Misbah said.
The 40-year-old, who
has been captain of Pakistan since late 2010 after
the infamous spot-fixing
scandal in England, made
it clear he was confident his
team could beat Australia in
the quarterfinals on Friday.
Even though we have lost Muhammad Irfan, which is a big blow to us,
we can do it. If we can beat South
Africa which is one of the finest sides
than we can do it against Australia,
he said. Misbah said regardless of
Australia’s form it is all about perform-
Irfan can’t wait to
turn out for CSK
NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 19:
Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan,
who is Chennai Super Kings’ latest recruit, is raring to go. The
left-handed all-rounder said he
was happy to be picked by the IPL
powerhouse and looked forward to
wearing the team colours.
Participating in a promotional
event organised by Aircel, one of
the sponsors of CSK, Irfan Pathan
said, ‘I am excited to be part of the
team and look forward to the fans’
support.’
Expressing happiness to get a
chance to play under M S Dhoni’s
leadership (at CSK), the Baroda
southpaw said, ‘playing under his
captaincy will be comfortable. I
have a good comfort level with him
and others like (Suresh) Raina and
Ravindra Jadeja.’
About his role in the side in the absence of South African all-rounder
Albie Morkel, Irfan said there are
already some all-rounders in the
side and ‘I need to see where I fit in
after having a chat with the captain
and the team management.’
Stating that he was coming off
a pretty good Ranji season, the
former Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers player said that ‘the ball is
coming out pretty well from my
hand. I am feeling fit too and hope
to do well in the IPL to push my
case.’
Irfan said he was glad to see the
Indian team do well in the ongoing
World Cup and praised the bowling
unit for putting a fine show.
Asked if fatigue would be a factor for
the cricketers during the forthcoming
IPL, he said that modern day players
were getting used to that and recovered a lot faster now. ‘I don’t think it
Irfan Pathan
will be an issue.’
Aircel’s head - SBU-1 (Chennai &
Tamilnadu) and Chennai Super Kings
Cricket Limited director B Kalyanasundaram were also present and
they launched Aircel’s ‘1+3’ offer for
the upcoming IPL season.
ing on the day.
On the Indian team, Misbah
said it had performed upto the
expectations.
They are the defending champions
and they know that and it is the biggest motivation for them. They have
been playing in Australia for the
last three months and preparing for
this World Cup and that has helped
them, he said.
Obviously when you are
the defending champions you have got all the
confidence in yourself
and they are now quite
an experienced team
playing the last couple
of years with the same
squad and their captain Dhoni is also a very experienced
campaigner.
‘They have performed upto expectations so far in this World Cup.’
Misbah made it clear that his team
had regained self belief after four
wins on the trot. ‘I can tell you this
team wants to win it for our people’.
Joy in Juve thanks
to Tevez double
Paris, Mar 19 (AFP):
A first-half goal by Ivan Rakitic was
enough to see Barcelona end English
interest in the Champions League
as they beat Manchester City 1-0
in their last 16
second
leg clash
for
a 3-1 aggregate
win and
a place
in the
quarterfinals.
Former Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez
scored a double in the night’s other
game as Juventus pulled off an impressive 3-0 win away at 2013 finalists Borussia Dortmund to win 5-1 on
aggregate.
For Tevez it represents quite a
turnaround in fortunes in the competition, having gone six seasons without
a Champions League goal,he has
now scored six this term.
Tevez, who despite showing excellent club form was never selected by
former Argentina coach Alejandro
Sabella including last year’s World
Cup finals, was modest about his
contribution.
‘The team played really well, I just
do my job and the team deserved the
win,’ said Tevez.
‘We showed our experience and I
think we’re on the right path,’ added
the 31-year-old.
Rakitic struck with a delightful effort
after being found by Lionel Messi,
chesting it down and then lofting the
ball over the outstanding Joe Hart.
‘I think we put in a great effort out
there,’ said Rakitic, after scoring his
first goal in the competition.
‘Perhaps we should have scored
more but the public saw a great performance.’
Mixed Bag
CHENNAI
THURSDAY
19 MARCH 2015
7
Tears, anger, distress...
q Tricky Maths paper breaks down students
NT Bureau
After many requests from students and parents, Central
Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has finally agreed
to set an expert committee for Class XII Mathematics paper,
which was held yesterday. This comes days after a tough
physics paper that had left parents anxious about the effect
it would have on their wards’ admissions to professional
courses.
What happened?
What was in?
What to expect?
The Maths paper was extremely difficult and
‘a torture for students’, leaving many in tears
and parents fuming.
Teachers termed the question paper one of
the toughest in recent times. Many students
left the examination room in tears saying that
the difficulty level had gone up considerably
when compared to the previous years. Students
confided that no amount of preparation was
sufficient to answer a paper as difficult as this.
Many also agreed that the exam was much
more difficult than the Physics paper too.
CBSE assured that the question
paper was made from CBSE and
NCERT books only. Questions are
not out of syllabus.
There were total 29 questions in 3
sections, namely A, B and C.
Section A: 10 questions:
1 mark each
Section B: 12 questions:
4 marks each
Section C: 7 questions:
6 marks each
Reports suggest that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attention will be sought in the issue.
The expert committee will test all tough questions in detail with
reference to model papers prepared by CBSE. If difficulty level
of the paper is higher than model papers, the Board will consider
holding ‘improvement exams’ for these students based on the
recommendations of the committee.
In a communication sent to schools, the CBSE chairman Vineet
Joshi said the subject experts will soon meet and review the question papers to find out whether the questions given were from
outside the syllabus and in deviation of the ‘blueprint’ followed
by the Board with regard to difficulty-level of questions.
Mumbai schools to
teach ‘Bhagwad Gita’
Mumbai, Mar 19 (PTI):
All municipal schools in the city and
suburbs would teach ‘Bhagwad Gita’
to students in order to make them
more focused, boost their morale
and impart them knowledge about
spiritualism, a civic official has said.
‘We shall impart the knowledge of
‘Bhagwad Gita’ to students to make
them independent and sharpen their
power in decision making,’ Municipal
Corporation of Greater Mumbai’s
(MCGM) Deputy Municipal Commissioner Ramdas Bhausaheb said.
He was speaking at a prize distribution function of ‘Gita Champions League’ contest, organised by
International Society for Krishna
Consciousness (ISKCON) here on
15 March.
Ramdas said MCGM has 1,200
schools with a total strength of 4,78,000
students where the corporation spends
over Rs 3,500 crore every year to impart free education to children in nine
regional languages, a press release
here said.
‘Our children are our future. We
need to protect them, nourish and
develop their minds. However, television, movies and the Internet together
expose the children to violence, pornography and insanity, as a result of
which they can easily get influenced
Don’t use terrorism as
instrument: Rajnath to Pak
q’If neighbour stops aiding ultras, S Asia situation will improve’
and succumb to negative thoughts
and actions,’ said Radhanath Swami,
the spiritual guru of ISKCON’s Radha
Gopinath Temple at Girgaum Chowpatty here.
The teachings of ‘Bhagwad Gita’
can influence young minds and give
a positive and morale-boosting exposure, help students remain focused
and assist in taking ethical decisions, he said. The Gita Champions
League written contest was held in
January this year by ISKCON. Nearly
4,617 students belonging to various
religions from 105 schools all over
Mumbai participated in the contest
and answered questions related to
the sacred scripture.
Jaipur, Mar 19 (PTI):
Launching a scathing attack on Pakistan, Union Home Minister Rajnath
Singh today said if the neighbouring
country stops supporting terrorists,
the security situation in South Asia
will improve significantly.
Rajnath also said the failure of
dreaded terror outfit ISIS to attract
Indian Muslims was due to their complete integration into the mainstream.
‘Indian Muslims are patriots and are
not swayed by fundamentalist ideologies. Extremism is alien to their
nature,’ he said.
The Home Minister said the source
of most terrorist activities in India lies
across the borders and it is unfortunate that even after paying such a
heavy price for itself, Pakistan and
its associates find it difficult to
understand that there are no ‘good
terrorists and bad terrorists’.
‘Differentiating terrorists into good
and bad categories has failed miserably. If the ISI and the Pakistan Army
stops their support to certain terror
A mini truck went up in flames due to short circuit in the engine on GST Road near airport this morning.
Police rushed to the spot and cleared the vehicle within three minutes, to ensure free flow of traffic
during peak hour.
IAS officer’s death:
Protests turn violent
New Delhi, Mar 19:
Violent protests took place across
Karnataka today over the question
of a CBI probe into the death of IAS
officer DK Ravi. In Bangalore, the
protesters of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad -- the student wing
of the BJP -- were lathicharged by
the police. In Tumkur too, the mob
clashed with the police.
The opposition BJP and JDS,
which are holding an indefinite
protest at the assembly, said they
will take their demand to Governor
Vajubhai Vala. The protesting lawmakers have spent two consecutive
nights at the Assembly.
Sources told that the Union home
minister, Rajnath Singh, has spoken
to Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and advised that the state opt
for a CBI inquiry.
Despite the rising public anger,
Siddaramaiah has said no to the
demand for a CBI probe from various
quarters. While an online petition to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
been signed by 13.5 lakh people,
including the state’s IAS officers, the
lawmakers of opposition BJP and
the JDS are on an indefinite dharna
at the state assembly.
Yesterday, Union Law Minister
Sadananda Gowda, who was also
a former chief minister of Karnataka,
met the Home Minister about the
issue, and called for a CBI probe.
The case is currently with the state
Criminal Investigation Department,
which, Siddaramaiah said, was ‘perfectly capable’ of handling it.
Karnataka’s Kolar, where Mr Ravi
took on the sand mafia, had seen
widespread protests after his death,
which the police said, was a prima
facie case of suicide. The 36-yearold officer was found hanging at his
flat in Bengaluru on Monday.
‘There are attempts from some
quarters to assassinate the character of the IAS officer,’ news agency
Press Trust of India quoted M
Madana Gopal, Additional Chief
Secretary (Environment, Forest and
Ecology) as saying. ‘We won’t allow
attempts to kill Ravi for second time.’
Ravi’s father-in-law Hanumantharayappa, at whose home the officer had spent the weekend, alleged
that he had told him he was ‘being
targeted’ by a particular group.
Three killed, four
hurt in shooting
at California
Stockton, Mar 19 (AP):
An apparent drive-by shooting at a
Stockton convenience store left three
people dead and four wounded in what
a police official called one of the worst
mass shootings in the city’s recent
history.
Officer Joe Silva also said the shooting
in the inland port city was in a crimeridden area known for drug deals and
is likely gang-related. Violence has
rocked Stockton, which was hit hard by
the economic downturn and declared
bankruptcy in 2012. Officials with the
San Joaquin County on Wednesday
said 20-year-old Aliyah Taylor and
27-year-old Arniska Lofton died in the
drive-by shooting. The male victim was
identified as 23-year-old Kabin Kennebrew. All were from Stockton. Four men
in their 20s and 30s were found inside
the small market and taken to hospitals.
The victims ages 24, 25, 32 and 38 are
expected to survive, Silva said.
No arrests have been made, and it
is not yet known if there were multiple
shooters. Police are interviewing witnesses, some of whom said they heard
up to 40 gunshots. Dozens of people
gathered in the area after the shooting,
and additional officers were called in to
help control the crowd.
‘Terrorist organisations
like Lashkar-e-Taiba
and Jaish-e-Mohammad
patronised by those
across the border, have
inflicted several acts of
terror on the Indian soil’
attack without even leaving home.
Referring to the Middle-East terror
group ISIS, the Home Minister said
the influence of the Islamic State
on the Indian youths is negligible.
According to our intelligence agencies, just a handful of Indian youths
has joined the ISIS and some have
returned after being persuaded by
their families.
Rajnath said India as a country is
proud of all its diversity and has the
second largest Muslim population in
the world after Indonesia.
‘India is home to all 73 firqas of
Muslims and it houses one of the
oldest church known to mankind in
the world. We have been practising
philosophy of peaceful coexistence
for centuries,’ he said.
The Home Minister said that many
terrorists are adept at using the latest technology to propagate their
beliefs and deeds. They extensively
use modern technology to reach out
to wider audience with susceptible
minds.
outfits, I have no hesitation in saying
that the security situation in South
Asia will improve significantly,’ he
said after inaugurating an
international conference on counter
terrorism here.
The Home Minister said that Pakistan should seriously rethink its
strategy of using terrorism as an
instrument of proxy war and that it
would be in its own national interests.
‘India has been a victim of crossborder terrorism for the last several
decades. Terrorist organisations like
Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad patronised by those across
the border, have inflicted several acts
of terror on the Indian soil. There are
several instances of such proxies being used in other parts of the world,’
he said.
Rajanth said the menace of terrorism is greatly amplified in today’s
digital world and an incident in one
corner of the globe can instantly
spark a reaction thousands of miles
away where a ‘lone wolf’ or a ‘DIY
(do it yourself) terrorist’ can go online and learn how to carry out an
Eight YSR Cong
MLAs suspended
HC rejects plea to
cancel AAP’s registration
Hyderabad, Mar 19 (PTI):
Eight members of the Opposition
YSR Congress were today suspended
from the Andhra Pradesh Assembly
for three days for ‘unruly behaviour’ in
the House.
Speaker K Sivaprasad Rao announced the action after Legislative Affairs Minister Y Ramakrishnudu moved
a resolution to this effect.
The suspended MLAs (as also other
members of the party) continued to
be in the Well of the House despite
appeals to vacate the House by the
Speaker, who then summoned Marshals. The MLAs, who raised slogans
against the Speaker, refused to relent
and were bodily lifted and taken out.
Taking exception to the suspension
decision, Leader of Opposition Y S
Jaganmohan Reddy said if one verified
the last five minutes of his speech, it
would be clear that he was speaking
on issues of public interest. Even as
Reddy accused the Chair of not being
‘impartial’, the Speaker said the conduct
of the YSR Congress members was
nothing short of ‘anarchy’.
New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI):
Delhi High Court today dismissed a
plea seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) for
cancellation of the Aam Aadmi Party’s
registration for allegedly using forged
documents.
‘(The) petition is dismissed,’ a bench
of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice
R S Endlaw said.
The judgement came on the plea of
Hans Raj Jain, who had sought the
cancellation alleging that the ‘registration of AAP was allowed (by the
ECI) in a hurried manner on the basis
of false and fabricated documents
without making any proper enquiries’.
Jain had claimed there were discrepancies in residential addresses
given by some AAP members in their
affidavits when compared to the addresses given in their voter identity
cards or income tax returns.
The ECI, on the other hand, had
contended that there was ‘no lapse
or any undue haste’ in granting rec-
Parties seek loan
waiver for farmers
New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI):
Political parties cutting across party
lines today demanded immediate
financial assistance and relief including loan waiver for farmers in North
and Western India whose crops have
been hit by unseasonal rain and
hailstorm.
Opposition Congress, BSP, JD-U
and CPI(M) demanded that the Centre should immediately announce financial assistance, assess the extent
of damage to crops and wave interest
on loans of distressed farmers.
With several members in Rajya
Sabha giving notice under rule 267
for suspension of business to take up
loss of crop due to unseasonal rains
and hailstorm, Deputy Chairman P
J Kurien said it has been decided to
take up discussion and the government replying to it.
Ghulam Nabi Azad (Cong) said
standing crops in Jammu and
Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra
have been destroyed in the unseasonal rains and hailstorm.
He demanded fair assessment of
the crop loss and corruption-free
and fair distribution of compensation. Besides, a financial package
for farmers needs to be announced
at the earliest, he said.
K C Tyagi (JD-U) said though crops
worth Rs 22,000 crore has been lost
in the natural fury, the insurance
companies were assessing crop
loss at no more than Rs 1,000 crore.
During the previous UPA regime,
there was a Group of Ministers for
quickly assessing the loss and announcing relief but under the present
dispensation all such panels have
been dissolved, he said, demanding
formation of a Ministerial grouping,
preferably under Finance Minister,
for quick assessment of loss.
Stating that all of the standing crop
in some states have been destroyed,
he said the government should announce a moratorium on loan repayments by farmers.
ognition to the party. ‘Registration to
AAP was granted after completing
all requisite formalities and requirements. There was no lapse or any
undue haste on the part of the Commission’s office in this regard, as
alleged or at all,’ the ECI had said
in an affidavit.
The poll panel had urged the high
court to dismiss the plea saying
‘there is no contravention of any
provision of the law.’
Jain, in his plea, had also alleged
that provisions of the State Emblem
of India (Prohibition of Improper
Use) Act has been violated by AAP
as its registration application contained the ‘chakra’ logo as depicted
in the national flag.
He had also sought initiation of
disciplinary action against EC officials for allegedly failing to verify
documents submitted by AAP members. After hearing arguments of
both sides the court had reserved
judgement on 18 February.
‘Ranaghat nun
fit for discharge’
Ranaghat, Mar 19 (PTI):
The elderly nun who was allegedly
gangraped by dacoits in Nadia district
on Saturday was declared fit for discharge from Ranghat subdivisional
hospital but the convent authorities
are yet to take a final decision.
The hospital superintendent A K
Mondol said ‘the hospital authorities
are in a position to release her, but
the convent authorities have not communicated to us their final decision.’
The medical board constituted to
examine the Sister Superior has
examined her and the nun is taking
her food and medicines, the superintendent said.
President of Catholic Bishops
Conference of India (CBCI) Baselios
Cardinal Cleemis had met the septuagenarian nun and prayed with her at
the hospital yesterday.
Immediately after arriving at Gangnapur, the Cardinal went to the convent to meet the other nuns to give
them moral support and visited the
nun at the hospital. ‘Justice should
be made visible and such act should
not continue,’ he had said.
8THURSDAY
19 MARCH 2015
, CHENNAI
Licensed to post without prepayment under WPP. No. TN / PMG / (CCR) / WPP-470 / 15-17
Twitterati bid adieu
to Sanga, Mahela
S
ri Lankan greats
Kumar Sangakkara
and Mahela Jayawardene bid farewell to
limited overs cricket on
Wednesday, disappointed
with a World Cup quarterfinal defeat but happy that
Sri Lanka were in a better
place than when he came
into the side in 2000.
The elegant lefthander
scored 45 runs against
South Africa to take his
tournament tally to 541,
Sachin Tendulkar
@sachin_rt
Well done on glorious
ODI careers @KumarSanga2 & @MahelaJay
Being an integral part of
the ODI side for so many
years.
including his record four
successive centuries, but
it never looked like being
enough as Sri Lanka were
blown away at the Sydney
Cricket Ground.
He has played just about
all of Sri Lanka’s ODIs in
this millennium, making
his debut in 2000 and
finishing up with 404 caps
and 14,234 runs - second
only to Sachin Tendulkar
- at an average of 42 per
innings.
Shoaib Akhtar @
ShoaibAkhtarPk
That’s it. SA are through
to SF. Sad end of mahela &
sanga’s ODI career. Finally
SA wins a knockout game.
Long jinx comes to an end.
VVS Laxman
@VVSLaxman281
Congrats @MahelaJay & @
KumarSanga2 on an excellent career.You have been gr8
role models & inspiration 2 a
lot of youngsters.Good luck:)
The way he finished made
many wonder why he was
retiring. He became the first
batsman to score centuries
in four consecutive ODIs at the World Cup, to boot
- to finish his career with
25 hundreds and 93 half
centuries. On top of that,
he took 402 catches and 99
stumpings.
Sangakkara will continue playing Test cricket
Anil Kumble
@anilkumble1074
Congrats to @MahelaJay
and @KumarSanga2 for a
wonderful one day careers.
SL will find it difficult to fill
the gap...too big a shoes.
Jacques Kallis
@jacqueskallis75
Congrats to these 2
legends of the game.
Was always a pleasure playing against
and watching you.
Enjoy retirement.
Glenn McGrath
@glennmcgrath11
Sad to see the legends
@KumarSanga2 & @
MahelaJay finish their
one day careers
New Zealand downplays SA win
Grame Smith
@GraemeSmith49
Congrats to @MahelaJay and @KumarSanga2
on incredible careers and
what brilliant memories
they gave us all.
WELLINGTON:
New Zealand all-rounder
Grant Elliott said they had
paid little notice to South
Africa’s overwhelming victory against Sri Lanka as
they prepared for their own
World Cup quarter-final
against the West Indies.
The winner of the New Zealand-West Indies clash in Wellington on Saturday will play
South Africa in the semi-finals
Boman Irani
@bomanirani
To Sri Lankan fans: Just
make sure #KumarSangakkara does not retire!
He has so much more
to give! A cricketer and a
gentleman!
in Auckland next Tuesday.
The Proteas were in imperious form as they crushed
Sri Lanka by nine wickets
in the first quarter-final on
Wednesday, but South
Africa-born Elliott insisted
he hardly noticed.
I didn’t watch too much. I
saw it was quite a convincing win from them, he said
of South Africa’s dominant
display at the Sydney Cricket
Tomorrow’s
match
in the short-term, unlike
his long-time teammate
Mahela Jayawardene,
who retired after the loss
on Wednesday. Jayawardene captained Sri
Lanka to the 2007 final,
and Sangakkara led the
side to the 2011 final.
They batted together for
a while on Wednesday,
but couldn’t revive a big
partnership of substance.
Ground. ‘We’ll concentrate on
this game (against the West
Indies) and if we do get to
the semi-final then we’ll
have a look at their team
and scout them accordingly.’
Elliott, born in Johannesburg, said his South African
heritage would have no bearing on how he would feel
if New Zealand played the
Proteas in the semi-finals.
— PTI
QUARTERFINAL
III
Australia vs Pakistan
at Adelaide Oval
9 a.m (IST)
Lara backs
WI to beat Kiwis
T
he West Indies received heavyweight support on
Thursday ahead of their World Cup quarter-final
against New Zealand with former greats Brian Lara and
Andy Roberts both tipping an upset.
Home side New Zealand, unbeaten through pool play,
are heavily favoured to win Saturday’s knock-out match in
Wellington and go on to play South Africa in the semi-finals.
But Lara said he was patriotic and optimistic the West
Indies have the armoury and the personnel to win.
Obviously, the West Indies are going into that match as
underdogs but I believe there’s a chink in the armour of
the New Zealanders, he told a news channel, noting New
Zealand fell apart in the play-offs last time they co-hosted
a World Cup in 1992.
But Lara wants a shake up in the West Indies line up
with Johnson Charles, who scored 55 when called up as
a late replacement for the United Arab Emirates game, to
replace Dwayne Smith as Chris Gayle’s opening partner.
— PTI
Ippadi panreengale ma...
q Popular lines turn titles in K-town
M
IVANUKKU
THANNILA KANDAM
Vivek’s famous line from the film Ullam Kollai
Poguthae brought the roof down with laughter with Sivakami computer Josiyar sonnar
Ivanukku Thannila Kandam nu! Perhaps
director S N Sakthivel borrowed the
line Ivanukku Thannila Kandam for
his movie. It was a laugh-riot
with TV anchor Deepak and
Naan Kadavul Rajendran
in the lead.
TRISHA ILLAINA
NAYANTHARA
uch recently, movies
are titled after popular
comical lines in Tamil
cinema. Funny dialogues delivered by comedians in films
have turned titles. Interestingly,
humour is the latest fad in Kollywood and no wonder why
filmmakers opt to go this way.
Let’s check at a few...
— M BHARAT KUMAR
The movie stars music composer G V
Prakash as hero. The title is a take off
from a famous line by Vadivelu in
the movie Thalainagaram, that
drew instant applause
from the audience.
ENGALUKKU VERU
KILAIGAL KIDAIYATHU
Another popular comedy dialogue by Vivek has
become the title for this movie. In the film Ice,
Vivek will play an actor and appearing for an AIDS
awareness campaign would say Eppadi Irundha
Naan Eppadi Ayitten. Engalukku Veru KiIaigal
Kidaiyathu !! Directed by Bharathy Mohan,
Engalukku Veru Kilaigal Kidaiyathu stars
Vikram Shiva and Rakshan in the lead
roles. Sara plays the heroine. Nizhalgal Ravi, Singam Puli, Imman Annachi and Manobala form part
of the cast. The movie has
music by Taj Noor.
THEEYA VELAI
SEYYANUM KUMARU
NANBENDA
The movie stars Udhayanidhi Stalin,
Santhanam and Nayanthara and is directed by
Jagadessh. The title is inspired by a comical
one-liner by Santhanam in the movie Boss
Engira Baskaran It is uttered by him to
glorify the camaraderie that he shares
with the hero of the movie Arya.
It has become a catchy dialogue
and is oft-repeated in campuses
across the State.
NEE ROMBA
NALLAVAN DA
The movie which was released recently featured Mirchi Senthil in the lead. Robo Shankar
played a key role in it. The movie’s title was
inspired by the dialogue by Vadivelu in
Sundar C’s directorial venture Giri.
The dialogue is slightly modified for the title.
Theeya Velai Seyyanum Kumaru meaning
‘Kumar, work like fire’, first appeared in the
movie Pudhupettai. However, Sundar C
used the dialogue to title his movie.
He added his comical touch to it
and the movie featuring Siddharth and Hansika became a blockbuster.
INNUMA NAMMALA
NAMBURANGA
This movie stars Sudhagar and Thiruveni as
its lead and is directed by S R Balaji. The movie
is a hilarious entertainer and the title is inspired
by Vadivelu’s famous dialogue in the movie
Winner that featured Prashanth, Kiran
and Vadivelu. The movie was rich
in comedy and almost all the
dialogues in the film were
huge hits.
Published by K. Balakumar on behalf of News Today Media (P) Ltd., from 85, Mount Road (GST Road), Guindy, Chennai 600 032 and printed by him at Frontline Printers Private Ltd., M-7, Thiru-Vi-Ka Industrial Estate, Guindy,
Chennai 600 032. Ph: 4202 1111. Editor: K. Balakumar. Phone: Editorial / Admn / Advt / Circulation 2250 4000, Fax: 2250 0303 (Editorial) / 2250 0101 / 2250 1200 (Advt/Admn/Cir). E-mail: [email protected]. Website: www.newstodaynet.com